Conjugations
Present Presente
Habits, current states, and general facts.
| Subject | Verb form | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| yo | explico | |
| tú | explicas | |
| él / ella / usted | explica | |
| nosotros / nosotras | explicamos | |
| vosotros / vosotras | explicáis | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | explican |
Preterite Pretérito perfecto simple
Actions viewed as completed events in the past.
| Subject | Verb form | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| yo | expliqué | |
| tú | explicaste | |
| él / ella / usted | explicó | |
| nosotros / nosotras | explicamos | |
| vosotros / vosotras | explicasteis | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | explicaron |
Imperfect Pretérito imperfecto
Past habits, descriptions, and actions in progress.
| Subject | Verb form | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| yo | explicaba | |
| tú | explicabas | |
| él / ella / usted | explicaba | |
| nosotros / nosotras | explicábamos | |
| vosotros / vosotras | explicabais | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | explicaban |
Future Futuro simple
Future events; also used to express a guess about the present.
| Subject | Verb form | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| yo | explicaré | |
| tú | explicarás | |
| él / ella / usted | explicará | |
| nosotros / nosotras | explicaremos | |
| vosotros / vosotras | explicaréis | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | explicarán |
Conditional Condicional simple
Hypothetical events and some polite requests.
| Subject | Verb form | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| yo | explicaría | |
| tú | explicarías | |
| él / ella / usted | explicaría | |
| nosotros / nosotras | explicaríamos | |
| vosotros / vosotras | explicaríais | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | explicarían |
Present subjunctive Presente de subjuntivo
Used in certain clauses expressing wishes, doubt, feelings, and other non-asserted situations.
| Subject | Verb form | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| yo | explique | |
| tú | expliques | |
| él / ella / usted | explique | |
| nosotros / nosotras | expliquemos | |
| vosotros / vosotras | expliquéis | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | expliquen |
Use ustedes for plural “you” in Latin America. Its verb form matches ellos / ellas. Vos forms are not included. Google voice when available; device voice as a fallback.
Meaning & usage
- to explain
- (reflexive) to explain oneself
English glosses are a starting point. The meaning of a verb can change with context, a preposition, or se. Read the full dictionary entry ↗
Meanings and conjugation data adapted from English Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki.org / Wiktextract. Frequency scores from wordfreq 3.1.1 by Robyn Speer and contributors. Adapted data is available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Entry source · Sources, download & limitations